


Sandcastles

by yoonityy



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Anime/Slice of Life, Alternate Universe - High School, Beach day out, Homeless Dream (but not), Mentioned TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:26:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28760280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoonityy/pseuds/yoonityy
Summary: On a day out at the beach, Techno had built an impressive sandcastle without breaking much of a sweat. Upon seeing it, Dream claims he’s made a much better and bigger one, but doesn’t let Techno see it. So, Techno seeks it out on his own.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	Sandcastles

**Author's Note:**

> I created this short plot as part of a bigger anime/slice of life high school AU (which I’m still working on! (and may never finish.......)), so here Techno and Dream are students (more specifically, third years). This is heavily based on the ‘homeless Dream’ segment, and I’m hoping the adapted references will still be apparent :) Enjoy!

Techno clapped away the remaining sand on his hands after completing the final touches to his build. A grand sandcastle, standing at almost the same height as hime, came into view as he backed away to see it as a whole. He nodded approvingly to himself, satisfied with what he had made.

"That's... impressive," a voice called out, approaching from behind him. His fellow classmate Dream went up beside Techno, taking in the sight of the detailed sculpture in front of them.

"Oh," Techno responded, surprised at Dream's sudden appearance. "Thanks."

Dream scrutinised the sandcastle a moment longer before folding his arms and lifting his shoulders, his smile turning into a smirk. "It's impressive, but it's not as cool as mine."

At that point, Dream was acting quite suspicious, but Techno raised a brow, curious. "Where is it?" he asked.

There was a short pause before Dream stuttered, "T... That doesn't matter."

"Have you even built one?"

"I _have_!"

The instant response only made Techno more skeptical, but he didn't let it show. "Could you take me to it then?"

As there was always a brief pause before he answered, it seemed as though Dream was at a loss for words. "... I don't need to take you there-"

"This guy says he has a better sandcastle than me but won't even let me see it. He probably hasn't even built one."

"Techno! I _have_ a _sandcastle_!!!"

Amidst Dream's adamance to take Techno to his sandcastle, Techno had turned to a by-passer with his remark. While the civilian looked a little confused, they simply walked away, but as Techno thought would happen, Dream interjected quickly in order to save face.

"I _do_ have one!" Dream blurted out. "I have a _giant_ sandcastle. It's just... far away."

Techno scoffed. "Hah! Yeah, like a 'you wouldn't know my sandcastle, it goes to another school' sorta thing?" 

"I _have_ a _sandcastle_!! What is wrong with you- you know what, I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Bye." As Dream tried walking away, a second pair of footsteps were heard close behind. He stopped and sighed.

"I'll follow you to your sandcastle then," Techno said plainly. It was evident Dream was running out of excuses, but Techno found it too amusing not to make fun of him.

"Don't follow me to my sandcastle!" Dream exclaimed. "I'm not even going to my sandcastle. I'm going back to the others..."

"Maybe that's because you don't _have_ a sandcastle, Dream."

"Techno! I. Have. A. Sandcastle!"

Techno sighed and placed a hand on Dream's shoulder. "Let me be real with you here, man. You don't have a sandcastle. That's why you came to mine! You wanted to claim it as your own, but you found me there and ended up pretending you came here to compliment it. Look, see, if you need help I can get you started..." He crouched down and began to gather sand into a pile. "I'll start you off with a foundation. See?"

He proudly presented the square sand formation he made for Dream, but he was only met with an unamused and tired expression from the latter.

"I have a sandcastle," Dream said matter-of-factly.

Techno narrowed his eyes as he wondered why this man was so stubborn. To put it frankly, Techno didn't care whether or not he had a sandcastle - if Dream had one, great! If he didn't have one, then that was fine too. What amused Techno the most was how Dream refused to tell the truth, and he decided he wouldn't stop making fun of him until he did.

So, Techno chose words that wouldn't upset him. "....... Okay, you know what? Sure thing, Dream."

"... I have a sandcastle," Dream reiterated, just in case. "And it's the biggest one on this beach."

"I believe you, I believe you..."

He didn't believe him.

"N-No, no, I swear though," Dream continued. "I'm not even kidding. It's huge, it's got... a working bridge..."

"Yeah, no, I believe you man. Everyone believes you. The amazing sandcastle with a working bridge and everything. The sandcastle that's never been witnessed before, but since you say 'trust me, it's real' - yeah, I believe you."

Dream's tense expression began to relax a little. "Y... Yeah, you're right! See, I keep my sandcastle hidden and secret so that nobody can come and destroy it."

"Yes, it's okay Dream. I _completely_ believe you."

He really didn't.

"Sooo..." Dream said. "We're on the same page then?"

"Yeah, yeah. We're on the same page."

Of two different books.

"... That I have a sandcastle," Dream continued.

"You _absolutely_ have a sandcastle."

"Huge?"

"It's the hugest sandcastle. Nobody's seen a sandcastle as large as yours. I believe you, I believe you."

It took a moment for Dream to process that Techno agreed with him so easily, but he accepted it nonetheless. "... ... ... Thank you."

... ... ... ...

Breaking the awkward silence by clearing his throat, Dream expressed his leave. "Well, I'm glad we're on the same page, Techno. I'm just gonna go to my... giant sandcastle now."

"Alright."

Dream backed away without turning around. "... ... Without you."

"Okay. Yeah. Have... fun."

Techno watched the man awkwardly shuffle backwards. Once he was a short distance away, Dream turned and hurried off.

If he were anyone but Techno, he would leave things at that and let Dream mind his own business. However, after that exchange, there was no way he was going to let him go now - he _was_ Techno after all. Who would he be if he _didn't_ follow Dream to this 'huge and giant castle with working bridges'? He felt like this was going to be something he couldn't miss, so he followed in pursuit of Dream.

~~~~~

By the time Techno settled in a hiding place behind some bushes, Dream had already started work on his masterpiece. To nobody's surprise, there was no 'big castle with a working bridge', and instead Dream was beginning from scratch. It truly was a pitiful sight to behold. There he was - the student council president, one of the best-performing and well-known students in the school - beside a slowly-growing mound of wet sand. That man didn't even have a bucket nor a spade to make his life easier.

Dream took a step back and took a serious look at the lopsided sand pile, sincerely figuring out ways to improve it. It didn't take long for him to wipe his hands on his shorts to then take his phone out.

 _Is... Is he watching a video tutorial?_ Techno wondered, amused. _Figures... nobody could make a sand pile as good as that without one._

Five minutes passed and not much progress was made. The pile looked more cuboid-like, but that was it. Techno watched as Dream kept adding sand, then taking it away, then adding it again, then taking it away... That lasted for another solid five minutes.

 _This... This guy is somehow worse at building than Tommy,_ Techno thought. _I... didn't even think that was possible._

To Dream's side, Techno noticed he had gathered some shells from around the area. He started decorating the top edges with them, but he had only placed six before running out. When he left to scavenge for more, Techno took the opportunity to look at the build close-up.

Upon reaching it, he noticed there was writing in the sand beside it reading 'Dream's Evil Sandcastle'. He blinked incredulously between the sandcastle and the writing, but the sound of footsteps brought him back to reality and he hurried back to his hiding place.

To his surprise, instead of shells, Dream had brought back small rocks. While Techno judged his lack of consistency, Dream continued to decorate his sculpture. He placed each one carefully, his tongue slightly sticking out on the corner of his mouth in concentration.

As he was decorating, some kids ran over in his direction as they played around, getting dangerously close to Dream's creation. Dream, however, was concentrating quite hard, and he wouldn't have expected what was to happen next.

Techno winced. _Ohh, no, Dream, Dream... Watch out...!_

One of the kids had fallen over and landed right in front of the sandcastle, just barely missing the actual build. The noise of the impact caught Dream's attention, and he irritatedly shooed the children away. They took off laughing.

Techno observed as Dream filled the dent back in with sand, not looking very happy.

_I feel like I should help him. Give him a spade... or at least something..._

On second thought, he shook his head. Techno figured he shouldn't hurt Dream and his pride any more than they already have been.

A couple more minutes passed, and Techno truly felt bad for the guy. The sculpture was more sad and droopy than the huge and grandiose castle Dream had talked about. Nevertheless, he continued to work on it earnestly.

Dream ran out of decorating materials again and went off. Techno noticed he had left his phone there, and being the... good person he is, he went over to look after it in Dream's absence. In the corner of his eye, he saw the notes app open with a small passage typed in. He quickly looked left and right before crouching down to read it:

'To do:

  * build an evil sandcastle (the biggest one ever - _and_ better than Techno's)
  * build an evil moat around it'



Techno just felt even more pity towards the man and quickly dipped back to the bushes as though he'd read a forbidden document. Dream shortly returned with a new supply of shells, and he finally took the time to replace the stones he placed earlier.

The kids who were messing around before had come back chasing each other. The moment Dream's back was turned, on of the kids had stumbled backwards. This time, it wasn't a near-miss, and a corner of Dream's build was trampled on.

Dream's head slowly turned around, meeting the children's gazes with a silent, cold, menacing glare. In a true fright, the kids dropped their toys and ran away, crying. Coincidentally, one of those toys was a sandcastle bucket, and Dream made use of it as though it belonged to him the whole time.

Techno thought for a moment. He told himself he wouldn't get involved, but it didn't feel right for him to just sit and watch either. He had to do _something_ \- anything.

As he scanned the area, he found the kids Dream had scared away huddled in a group, and an idea clicked.

A looming shadow was cast over the children as they spoke in a loud whisper, discussing how they would get their things back.

"Hey."

It took them a moment to notice that someone was behind them, and the sudden low, monotone voice made them lose balance in their squat, making them fall onto their bottoms.

"Who are you!?!?!?" They exclaimed.

Techno gave them no explanation. "That guy who you ran away from. Are you scared of him?"

"W... We're not scared. He's just... mean!"

"It's three against one. What's he gonna do?"

The kids stared at him blankly, taking in the information. Luckily, kids didn't need much convincing, and one had put a hand to his chin, nodding. "He's right, you know..."

"Yeah!!!" Another one shouted. "He _is_ right! And I have an idea!"

As they put together a rescue plan, Techno was meaning to leave, but the third kid ran in front of him. "Aren't you coming with us?"

"No." Techno had already done what he wanted to do. While he didn't get involved directly, he incited something he hoped would garner an interesting reaction from Dream. He thought a bit longer, then looked up to the whole trio. "One more thing. Don't tell that man you saw or spoke to me. Got it?"

The kids nodded either enthusiastically or frantically (Techno couldn't tell), so he promptly left. Kids weren't too reliable for keeping secrets, but at that point he could only hope for the best.

It didn't take long for the children to begin their mission to retrieve their things. When they showed up, the unknowing Dream had his back towards them, scooping sand into the bucket with his bare hands.

Initiating their calculated plan, one kid ran forward and picked up a handful of shells, alerting Dream.

"You again!" Dream exclaimed, dropping what he was doing to chase him. He wouldn't let him go this time. However, the shell kid was only used as a distraction as another picked the bucket up, racing around to place the other toys inside as he ran in the opposite direction.

After glancing between the two troublemakers in both confusion and irritation, he turned to chase the bucket kid in a split second decision. He could find shells anywhere on the beach, but he didn't want to lose the one tool he had.

The third and final kid in the group, however, didn't seem to have a role. He ran around, unsure which friend to follow, switching between the two every now and then. Amidst his confusion, he heard sounds of defeat and he turned to see Dream having caught his two friends, holding them by the backs of their collars. In a desperate attempt to save them, Kid 3 ran forward with a high-pitched battle-cry.

And Dream's triumphant expression dropped.

Directly in Kid 3's path was Dream's beloved sandcastle, and he was running straight towards it. Dream let go of the two friends and dived forward in an attempt to protect his castle just as Kid 3 began to fall forward, tripping over.

However, to his misfortune, Dream landed half a metre out, ending with the kid landing and destroying over half of his structure. Dream's face was met was sand, his arm outstretched in front of him, in the saddest possible state Techno had ever seen him in.

Having ended their rescue mission in success, the one-captured kids helped their friend up and stuck their tongues out at Dream. They ran away laughing in victory, even taking his shells as extra loot, adding a final strike to Dream's pride.

Dream lay face-down in the dirt for what seemed to be an uncomfortable amount of time before getting up and staring blankly at the aftermath of what was once his evil sandcastle.

Suddenly and wordlessly, he began to violently stomp repeatedly on what was left of his sculpture until it became an indistinguishable mush of wet sand, stones and shells. Techno had never felt so much pity towards someone in his life.

 _Oh no. It was a good sandcastle... He was getting somewhere with it..._ He watched further as Dream let out his anger and figured this was the end. _He's given up, ohh no..._

Once finished with his business, Dream simply turned away, never once looking back at the destruction and mess he left behind. It was the sort of situation he would erase from his memory forever, vowing to never tell anyone of it.

Unbeknownst to him, however, a pink-haired man stood up from his crouched position and stretched his arms up, having witnessed something both entertaining and depressing at the same time. He approached the rubble of what used to be a sculpture built with care and thought and picked up a shell buried under. "Man. All he wanted was to built a sandcastle."

As he was taking one last look at the debris, his phone pinged. He got a text from Dream.

Dream: I destroyed my giant secret sandcastle I told you about.  
It was just too great so I destroyed it before anybody else could destroy it  
out of jealousy.  
Next time, I'll make one much bigger. I will show you then.

_Techno is typing..._

Techno: k

Techno put his phone away, not believing any of Dream's words. He made his way back to his own sandcastle - one that _wasn't_ trampled on.

While being one of the main catalysts as to why Dream's sandcastle got eradicated, Techno was genuinely rooting for the man and wanted to see where he'd take it. What Techno didn't foresee was the ultimate destruction the children would bring. Once it happened though, he was definitely all for it.

Upon reaching his own masterpiece, he found a blonde man wearing a stripy green and white hat standing idly beside it, looking out to the sea. He noticed Techno approach and smiled.

"Oh, Techno! There you are. I noticed you were gone for a while and didn't think you wanted this to be destroyed, so I've just been keeping an eye on it."

Techno nodded gratefully. "Man. Thank you. I can always count on y... Phil. What is that."

It seemed that a small, lopsided stone structure had appeared beside his sandcastle while he was gone. Techno knew it only could have been one person.

"Ah... Sorry," Phil said honestly. "Tommy got away before I could stop him."

Of course it was him. Techno shook his head disapprovingly.

"Say, where did you go anyway?" Phil asked.

"Ah," Techno hesitated. "Well. You know... Around."

"... Around?"

"Around."

Phil looked at him with a curious expression, but he decided not to pry any further. Little did he know, Techno had witnessed the rise and fall of one of the best students in the school, over something as small as building a sandcastle.

For now, Techno decided to keep that whole ordeal to himself. Nobody needed to know - not just yet. He just needed the right time.

With that thought in mind, Techno turned to Phil with a sly yet unassuming smile. "Anyways. You any good at building sandcastles, Phil?"

**Author's Note:**

> He only showed up at the end, but Phil in this AU is a teacher! He's either a guidance counsellor or homeroom teacher (or both!), but I still have yet to decide.....
> 
> That aside, I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
